The Leonese (Leonese: Llioneses; Spanish: Leoneses) are a subgroup of Spaniards, native to historical region of León in Spain.

The Leonese Kingdom was an independent kingdom in the Middle Ages until 1230 when it was joined to the Kingdom of Castile (from 1296 to 1301 the Kingdom of León was again independent); after the re-union with Castile in 1301 it remained a kingdom until 1833, but as part of a united Spain from 1479. In 1833 it was divided into three provinces. The languages of the Leonese people are Leonese, Galician and Castilian Spanish in Spain.

The former Kingdom of León was divided into three historical regions: Asturias, León, and Extremadura, with the eastern territories into Castile. The Spanish division of 1833[2] recognised as Leonese the provinces of León, Salamanca, and Zamora. They are now part of Castile and León.

Leonese was the official language of the Leonese Kingdom in the Middle Ages. The first written text in Leonese was Nodicia de Kesos (959 or 974), and other old texts include Fueru de Llión, Fueru de Salamanca, Fueru Xulgu, Códice d'Alfonsu XI, Disputa d'Elena y María, and Llibru d'Alixandre. Its precarious situation as a minority language has driven Leonese to near extinction; it is considered a seriously endangered language by UNESCO.